FARRELL MONACO: Did you know that Romans
used date pits to make lotions for their eyebrows?
And the ancient Greek word for date
was Phoenix, because it was originally
thought that dates originated in Phoenicia.
Also, in recent years in Israel, a 2000-year-old date seed
was excavated from the Masada, and it
was successfully germinated.
And it is now a growing date palm tree.
So stick around for some more information
and grab your apron because it's date night on The Old School
Kitchen.
Welcome back, everyone.
I'm Farrell Monaco, and it's date night in The Old School
Kitchen.
But don't worry, I'm not talking about courting here.
And I'm not going to ask you to comb your hair
or put on a nice shirt.
We're actually talking about the fruit of the date palm
tree, the date, because this fruit has actually
been an integral part of the Mediterranean food culture
for thousands and thousands of years.
In fact, date palm trees are so old,
it's difficult to trace the exact origins of the tree,
but some of the most beautiful archaeological evidence
of dates have been found in Egypt,
dating to the 14th century BC.
On a tomb painting that depicts palm dates
ready to be harvested. You'll notice the date trees
along the bottom of the painting burdened with plump dates
ready to be picked.
In Iraq, or ancient Mesopotamia, dating to seventh century
BC, on a bas-relief sculpture depicting a military campaign.
Here, you'll notice three towering date trees boasting
bunches of dates hanging down from the growing
point at the top of the trunk.
In Pompeii, Italy, dating to the first century
AD in a desiccated and carbonized form,
perfectly preserved during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
These dates may look small to our eye,
but it's simply due to the fact that all moisture was
lost in the intense heat of the Vesuvian eruption,
shrinking the dates during the carbonization process.
And in Herculaneum, Italy, dating to the first century AD,
on a fresco depicting dates alongside two coupled figs
and two dried figs.
You'll notice two coins sitting atop the two dates
in the center of the image.
One is silver, and one is gold. The Roman poet,
Martialis, tells us that a golden date is offered by clients
to the wealthy patrons on the Kalends of January,
which is the beginning of the new year.
Dates in the classical Mediterranean
were a little bit of a treat.
They were definitely a part of the Roman diet,
but they were a bit of a high-status item
as they were imported from other regions such as Syria,
Judea, Egypt.
So, they weren't necessarily a staple
in the Roman diet in the same manner that say
cereal grains or legumes were.
Carbonized dates were excavated at Pompeii and Herculaneum,
but in small enough quantities to indicate that they weren't
nearly as common in the daily Roman diet
as other native fruit were.
Archaeological evidence tells us that dates are often
pictured as offerings to deities in Roman art.
And dates as offerings were also excavated at the temple
of Isis at Pompeii.
This notion of dates as a luxury food
is attested to by the first century Roman gourmand, Marcus
Gavius Apicius, in his cookbook, entitled De Re Coquinaria.
Apicius writes about a date-based dish
called dulcia domestica, or homemade sweets,
in his cookbook, which is thought to have been drafted
in the first century AD.
This dish is comprised of dates stuffed with nuts or pine nuts
and dressed or stewed in honey, salt, and pepper.
And now the time has finally arrived
to explore what all this ancient hype about the Phoneix
dactylifera is all about.
We are now going to take Apicius's
recipe for stuffed dates called dulcia domestica.
And so while I am preparing a batch for myself,
I'm actually going to teach you how to make it at home.
So, get a pad of paper and a pen.
Here's the ingredients that you're going to need.
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Are you ready?
Let's make dulcia domestica.
So, the first step in the process
is we are going to take our dates,
and we're going to split them into three groups of 10.
And while we're doing so, why don't I
let you in on a little secret?
You know it isn't just archaeology
that tells us about dates in the ancient Mediterranean.
We can refer to ancient literary sources as well.
In the first century AD, Roman poet Publius Papinius Statius
tells us of sweets raining down on the crowds
during the public games of Saturnalia,
and among those sweets were grape must cakes and stuffed
dates.
So the next step in the process is to stuff
every single one of our undressed dates,
and you're going to do it like so.
If you look at the bottom of the date,
you're going to see a small hole, where the pit at the date
was originally extracted.
So taking your almond or your pine nuts,
whichever you're choosing to use, insert it
into the base of the date, in the hole,
give it a tiny little push.
And then you can pinch it shut.
And make sure that you do this with every single one
of your 30 dates.
Oh!
And here's another really interesting literary reference.
In the first century AD, Roman poet Aulus Persius Flaccus
tells us that some Romans originally perceived dates
to be a little bit of a luxury food
when they were first being imported into Rome.
A character named Bestius tells us
that dates turned even the simplest of palates
towards the extravagant.
Next, we're going to dress our dates,
but the first thing you want to do
is take 10 undressed, stuffed dates,
and set them aside, because we're actually
going to serve those plain.
So, what you're going to do then,
is you take the remaining two batches of 10 dates.
10 of them are going to be dressed with sesame seeds.
The other 10 are going to be dressed with cracked pepper.
So, to dress the dates, get your first batch of 10
and roll each stuffed date in honey.
Make sure that the surface of the date
is adequately coated, but not excessively so.
Mix it up and let some of the honey come off.
Give it a little bit of a shake, and then
move it into a bowl of cracked pepper.
Give it a nice roll and make sure
that the entire surface of the date is coated.
You are not going to regret this, trust me.
And while we're dressing our dates in cracked black pepper,
now might be a great time to tell you about what Josephus
had to say about dates.
In the first century AD, Roman Jewish historian Flavius
Josephus tells us that the best quality
of dates in the Mediterranean came from Jericho.
Josephus also tells us about food stores
found at Masada following the Roman siege
of the fortified settlement in 74 AD.
The hilltop fortress built by King Herod
contained an abundance of wine and oil,
every variety of pulse, and piles of dates.
Now, that reference from Flavius Josephus
is actually really important, because what it does
is it allows us to connect an ancient historical reference
to modern developments with respect
to the date palm tree known as the Phoenix dactylifera.
Check this out.
This is the story of Methuselah, a date palm
tree that was named after the longest living
person in the Bible.
Methuselah is growing in a modern kibbutz in Israel
and was germinated from a 2000-year-old date palm seed
that was excavated from Masada.
The seed was deposited at the fortress
sometime prior to 74 AD when the Romans laid siege
on the settlement.
What's special about this date palm tree
is that scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
didn't know if they could successfully
germinate a date palm seed that was 2000 years old.
After all, it had been lying around in the Judean desert
for a very long time.
But they tried just the same, and it turns out
that the seeds of the Phoenix dactylifera,
which is the scientific name for this date palm tree,
can withstand heat, dryness, and the test of time.
In the end, all it took was some soil and water,
and the 2000-year-old Phoenix dactylifera rose once again.
Isn't that just amazing?
How incredible is that?
All I can say is I sincerely hope
that at some point in the future,
I'll be able to taste one of Methuselah's dates.
So, speaking of dates, let's finish up our dish for today.
So I have chosen to do a single service
plate for each one of my dates.
There's three dates on each plate.
And I'm going to crown my dressed dates
with one of the plain dates.
I'm just going to put it on top, like so.
And then I'm going to garnish it.
If you'd like, garnish the dates a little bit
with a gentle sprinkling of cracked pepper or some sea
salt to taste.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Experiment with some color and a hint of floral scent and flavor
by garnishing with a little bit of lavender or rosebuds.
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Feel free to add a slice of sharp or mild cheese
to balance some of the flavors.
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Lastly, you can plate and present your dates
in any fashion that you choose.
You may choose to individually plate
a selection of the three date varieties as single servings,
or you can choose to serve each variety on one large plate
for family style service.
Here are some other ideas for presentation and plating.
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Zippy!
These are amazing.
What do you think?
Have you tried yours yet?
Which one is your favorite?
My favorite, to be honest, are the dates
that are rolled in cracked black pepper.
You know, the Romans were never bashful
about incorporating cracked black pepper or garum,
which is fermented fish sauce, into their sweets
and their desserts.
I know, it sounds strange, doesn't it?
But it's actually quite beautiful.
Now, before I polish off the rest of my dates,
I actually want to lift a glass to you, my friend,
to thank you for watching and for cooking along with me today
in The Old School Kitchen.
I think I actually want to toast archaeologists
as well, who for hundreds of years
have taught us about food in the ancient Mediterranean.
And last, but certainly not least,
let's raise a glass together to Methuselah,
the Phoenix dactylifera date palm tree who, for 2000 years
lying dormant in the Judean desert, has risen once again.
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